Tognetti puts art above politics in ACO season launch

Richard Tognetti: it's time to take a breath and enjoy art for art's sake. (PR HANDOUT IMAGE PHOTO)

When the Matildas beat France on Saturday, the shootout finished mere moments before the Australian Chamber Orchestra took to the stage for a concert in Canberra.

Lead violin Richard Tognetti stepped in front of the audience and immediately acknowledged the presence of the French ambassador to raucous laughter from a packed house of usually well-mannered classical music fans.

The ambassador wasn't actually in the crowd but it didn't matter in the slightest - Tognetti is a musician who knows how to seize his moment.

As the orchestra launches its 2024 program, the acclaimed performer is considering a broader cultural moment - the prevalence of art that delivers a political message.

"I think we're tiring of agenda driven art, I think it's time for us to just take a breath and enjoy art for art's sake," he told AAP.

These days putting aesthetics at the forefront is a dangerous sentiment, according to Tognetti, but the obsession with political agendas of various stripes "almost feels like it gets in the way and makes us stumble as artists", he said.

It's a path he's proud to be on but a sentiment that may not be as well received as his football gibe and one that appears to jar with a much-anticipated element of the orchestra's upcoming program.

The national tour of the live-in-concert documentary film River featuring singer and didgeridoo virtuoso William Barton explores the way rivers have shaped human existence and comes with a message about our impact on the environment.

It's not driven by an environmental agenda but the synergy of images and music - and it's the art that makes the difference, Tognetti said.

Women composers are also a feature of the 2024 season, with a piece by the celebrated US composer Julia Wolfe as well as a new commission by Cassandra Miller performed by guitarist Sean Shibe in his Australian debut.

Tognetti insists there's widespread acknowledgement of problems such as sexism in the world of classical music and women are now well represented in western orchestras.

"Things have changed so rapidly for the better, we can just breathe a little bit now in our western bubble," he said.

There's also a collaboration with Sydney Dance Company’s Rafael Bonachela featuring countertenor Iestyn Davies and the music of JS Bach and Arvo Pärt.

It's the first for the two organisations since 2012 and the orchestra's first joint effort with its neighbours in the new arts precinct at Walsh Bay - another cultural moment for the national chamber orchestra.

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